Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter

Left: Youngsters like Kayee Boyd just love the refreshing taste of a snow cone during the summer months. - photo by Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore... Right: Nothing beats the heat like a good ol' suck-suck, a long-time favourite, especially among children. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

It's mid-summer and the heat is definitely on. But we can cool down with some traditional coolers, such as suck-suck, snow cones, kisko pop and bag juice. Once very popular, they are now rarely seen except at cultural events or from a lone vendor selling them at a stall.

Suck-suck

In rural Jamaica, suck-suck (syrup and water frozen in ice trays) was once very popular. Another spin on the suck-suck idea is a refreshing cooler of flavoured drink poured into a small plastic bag and frozen. These can be enjoyed by biting a tiny hole at one end of the bag then, as the name suggests, suck on it. They are great on any hot day and parents usually have the freezer filled with them so children can eat at their leisure.

They were also sold at small shops and at schools. When the break or lunch bell rang, children headed straight for the vendors' stalls.

Snow cone

Unlike suck-suck, snow cones are made from shaved ice that is placed in a cup (triangular shaped) or bag and flavoured syrup added on top. Dr. Heather Little-White said that back in the mid '50s, snow cone was very popular. She noted that growing up in Somerton, St. James, most persons did not have a refrigerator. The ice truck came in the mornings to drop off huge blocks of the precious commodity.

"Usually, people had to use wood shavings to keep the ice from melting. Individuals owning small shops and vendors at the school gate used an ice shear to shave it, add syrup and sell it to the children," Dr. Little-White explained.

Today, making snow cone has become more sophisticated. The block of ice is placed in a shaving machine and all you need to do is scoop it up, pour it in a cup or plastic bag, add syrup and you have snow cone.

Ice pops

An ice pop is a refreshing cooler on a stick. A stick is placed in flavoured liquid, such as fruit juice, and frozen.

Ice pops in other countries, such as the United Sates of America and Canada, are known as popsicles. The first recorded ice pop was created in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson in San Francisco, who left a glass of soda water powder and water outside in his back porch with a wooden mixing stick in it. That night, the temperature dropped below freezing, and when Epperson returned to the drink the next morning, he found that the soda water had frozen inside the glass, and that by running it under hot water, he was able to remove and eat the frozen soda water chunk using the stick as a handle.

Bag juice and kisko pops

Bag juice and kisko pops are popular coolers across the island but they are not home-made. At school, the bus stop, in the markets, on the streets, wherever you go, bag juice surrounds you as vendors scream at the top of their lungs, "Bag juice, bag juice".

There is no problem to get rid of the little bags of coolers because they are refreshing and very inexpensive.

Kisko pops too are inexpensive and are sold in packs or 12. They are made from a syrup-flavoured mixture that comes in a long, slender plastic bag. They are frozen then the top is cut off and you can eat at your leisure.

This cooler is a child's favourite and comes in very handy during the hot months. However, parents need to monitor how much sweet coolers their children consume. In the soaring temperatures, they may want to eat more than one for the day. Why not try the same concept but substitute some nutritious fruit juice rather than syrup?